All seven of Grand County High School’s 2010 Sterling Scholar candidates placed in their respective categories in the 30th annual Southeastern Utah Sterling Scholars competition on Tuesday, March 2.

GCHS had three first-place winners and four runners-up at the competition, which was held at the College of Eastern Utah in Price.

Grand’s three winners are students who have excelled in a variety of school activities including sports, debate team, school clubs and other programs throughout their high school years. Lillian McKinlay-Jones, the daughter of Stan Jones and Karen McKinlay-Jones, took first place in the General Scholarship category. Audrey Baird, daughter of Mike Baird and Donna Metzler, placed first in the Science competition, and Miranda Gill, the daughter of James and Tiffany Gill, won in the Visual Arts category.

The four runners-up for Grand are equally accomplished. The four runners-up were: Tailor Talbot, the daughter of Ryan and Lisa Talbot, who competed in the Foreign Language category, Jesse Sheets, the son of Kevin and Dawn Sheets, who was a candidate in English, Levi Sjoblom, the son of Lee and Debbie Sjoblom, who competed in Trade and Technology, and Stephanie Irvin, the daughter of Ron and Mary Irvin, competing in Speech and Drama.

The seven GCHS seniors were among more than 60 12th-grade students who competed from Grand, Carbon, Emery, and San Juan counties.

“Congratulations to these students, who have shown that hard work and dedication do pay off,” said GCHS Principal Stephen Hren, who attended the competition. “The choices they’ve made academically are going to pave the way for their future.”

Hren said that the strong showing “reinforces the quality of education we have in Grand County schools,” and he encouraged GCHS students to take advantage of the many academic opportunities that are available.

“I’m so proud of all of these kids,” said GCHS Sterling Scholar adviser Melissa Meldrum on Wednesday morning. “I have cramps in my cheeks from smiling and laughing.”

“I was so excited when they announced my name I just about cried,” said Gill, who plans to study painting, drawing, and graphic design at Southern Utah University.

Gill said the Sterling Scholar program “has helped me gain a good work ethic and has made me more confident with my artwork and with interview situations.” As part of the competition, Gill had to show the judges her art portfolio, including a self-portrait painting.

The Sterling Scholar program, which recognizes high school seniors for their excellence in 12 academic categories, was originated by the Deseret News and KSL-TV, which still conduct the program for schools along the Wasatch Front. However, rural areas throughout Utah, including the four counties served by the Southeastern Utah Sterling Scholar Association, now operate the program independently.

Each category winner receives a distinctive Sterling Scholar pin and a cash award of $400 for college expenses. The runners-up (two from each category) each receive a pin and a $100 cash award. In addition, in-state colleges and universities throughout Utah offer scholarships to the winners, and some also offer scholarships to the runners-up.

We're glad to give readers a forum to express their points of view on issues important to this community. That forum is the “Letters to the Editor.” Letters to the editor may be submitted directly to The Times-Independent through this link and will be published in the print edition of the newspaper. All letters must be the original work of the letter writer – form letters will not be accepted. All letters must include the actual first and last name of the letter writer, the writer’s address, city and state and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be accepted.

Letters may not exceed 400 words in length, must be regarding issues of general interest to the community, and may not include personal attacks, offensive language, ethnic or racial slurs, or attacks on personal or religious beliefs. Letters should focus on a single issue. Letters that proselytize or focus on theological debates will not be published. During political campaigns, The Times-Independent will not publish letters supporting or opposing any local candidate. Thank you letters are generally not accepted for publication unless the letter has a public purpose. Thank you letters dealing with private matters that compliment or complain about a business or individual will not be published. Nor will letters listing the names of individuals and/or businesses that supported a cause or event. Thank you letters about good Samaritan acts will be considered at the discretion of the newspaper.